Biological purification of polluted waters as a factor in sustainable environmental management

Abstract

This article is about accelerating wastewater treatment through a biological method - creating thickets of aquatic and water-coastal plants. Many species of higher aquatic plants grow quite well in various polluted waters and produce large amounts of biomass. At the same time, they absorb mineral and organic components from polluted waters, necessary for the microbiological oxidation of organic substances. In order to determine the purification effect of Lemna minor L., Wolffia arrhiza and Azolla caroliniana, the authors describe experiments conducted on municipal water in Osh and wastewater from a poultry farm. Planting material of plants grown in the laboratory was added to pools with wastewater at the rate of 400 g of duckweed, 500 g of Wolffia and 400 g of Azolla of fresh biomass per 1 m2 . The temperature was monitored and the pH was measured daily. The chemical composition and physical properties of the test waters were determined every 3 days. When growing the above plants, municipal and wastewater from poultry farms is enriched with oxygen, and the degree of purification from organic and mineral substances is intensified. As a result, the authors come to the conclusion that Lemna minor, Wolffia arrhiza and Azolla caroliniana can be used for wastewater treatment, since they are capable of detoxifying it. They extract nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium from water and store nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in their shoots, and also absorb carbon dioxide and enrich the water with oxygen.